Sha Tin, New Territories: Temples, Horses and the New Town Experiment

Sha Tin: a Planned Answer to a Chaotic City

Kowloon's neon signs fight for air. Its pavements are a river of bodies moving at three different speeds. You liked it but you need a breath. Sha Tin is that breath, and it is nothing like the rest of Hong Kong. Built from scratch on reclaimed farmland starting in 1973, this new town of 630,000 people was designed as an alternative to the dense, organic sprawl of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. It has a river walk, a cycle path that runs 11 kilometres to Tai Po, a racecourse that holds 85,000 people, and a hillside temple with 12,800 Buddha statues at the top of a 430-step climb. The question is not whether you should go. The question is what you will do with a day that requires no ferry, no harbour crossing, and no queue for a tram.

The Climb to Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

Before You Start the Climb

Start early. Arrive at Sha Tin MTR by 08:30, leave through Exit B, and walk 20 to 25 minutes to Pai Tau Village. The path is a concrete stairway flanked by 500 gilded arhat statues, each one in a different pose, and the climb gives you 430 steps of exposure to the morning heat. Bring water. There is none on the path. Watch for monkeys. They will snatch food and plastic bags. The temple was founded in 1951 by Yuet Kai, and its main hall holds a gilt Buddha beneath a nine story red pagoda you can climb. The claim of 12,800 Buddha statues sounds like a marketing number until you start counting the tiny figures lining every shelf. Photography is allowed. Admission is free. The vegetarian restaurant that used to serve lunch has been closed since 2020, so eat before you come or wait until you descend.

Finding It and Timing It Right

The signage from Sha Tin MTR is poor. Signs near Pai Tau Village may point you to a different temple entirely. Use Citymapper or HKeMobility, not Google Maps. If you lose the way, ask a local for "Man Fat Sze" in Cantonese. The temple opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:00, and the upper pagoda levels close earlier. Go up first, photograph the pagoda, then work your way down through the halls. You want to be back at street level by 11:00, before the tour groups arrive.

Horses, Heritage and the Riverfront

Race Day or Rest Day

The Sha Tin Racecourse opened on 7 October 1978 and holds about 85,000 people, though a Wednesday night meeting draws a fraction of that. The racing season runs September to July. Wednesday night races start around 19:15 and run until about 23:00. Saturday and Sunday day meetings begin at 13:00. Public enclosure admission costs a small fee, but that figure changes. The Hong Kong Jockey Club publishes the current rate. If you want the members' enclosure, bring your passport and buy a tourist badge, though that price is also annual. Minimum bet is low. Skip the betting if you do not understand it; watching the horses run the 1,000 to 2,400 metre tracks from the infield Penfold Park is more interesting than losing money on a quinella you cannot pronounce. Penfold Park is open to the public on non race days, 09:00 to 21:00, and it is the greenest spot in Sha Tin. On race days it is closed.

The Hong Kong Heritage Museum

A 15 minute walk from Sha Tin MTR, this five floor museum opened on 16 December 2000. The permanent galleries are free. Wednesday admission is also free. Closed Tuesdays. The second floor holds the Bruce Lee gallery, opened in 2013, with over 600 items including his yellow jumpsuit from Game of Death. The Cantonese opera gallery is on the same floor and is quiet, air conditioned, and almost never crowded. Budget 90 minutes. The special exhibitions charge a small fee, but the permanent collection is enough for most visitors. Che Kung Temple MTR is a 5 minute walk away if you arrive by train.

The Shing Mun River Corridor

The Shing Mun River was a tidal estuary until the 1970s, when it was channelised to drain the new town. Now it runs 7 kilometres through Sha Tin, lined with a continuous footpath and cycle track. Rent a bike from Sha Tin; shops set their own rates, so check the board outside before you hand over cash. Ride the 11 kilometres north to Tai Po. The path is paved, mostly flat, elevation gain under 30 metres. It follows the river, then Tolo Harbour, past the Science Park at Pak Shek Kok. One way rental is possible in Tai Po. The ride takes about an hour at an easy pace. Alternatively, walk the promenade from Sha Tin Park to the rowing centre and watch the dragon boat teams train. The Tuen Ng Festival races happen in May or June.

The New Town Experiment, Up Close

The Blueprint in Concrete

Sha Tin was designed for 600,000 people. It now holds 630,000. About 60 percent live in public housing; 40 percent in private estates. The first public estate was Lek Yuen Estate, completed 1975. The first private estate was City One Shatin, completed 1981, with 52 blocks and about 10,600 units. Walk through City One Shatin and you see the experiment at scale: everything you need within a 10 minute walk, schools, clinics, markets, bus stops, all connected by covered walkways. It works. It is also relentlessly beige.

Malls, Markets and a Temple

New Town Plaza, opened in the 1980s and expanded since, holds over 350 shops across Phase 1, Phase 3 and Grand Central Plaza. It is a five minute walk from Sha Tin MTR Exit A. The rooftop has Snoopy's World, opened in 2000, a free Peanuts themed play area open 11:00 to 19:00. If you have children it is a good break. If you do not, skip it. The music fountain at Phase 1 is not worth waiting for.

For food, head to the Sha Tin Market at 1 3 Sha Tin Centre Street. The cooked food centre on the upper floor has about 20 stalls. It opens around 06:00 and closes around 20:00. Cash only. The wonton noodle soup is good. The roast goose is adequate. This is not the destination for a meal you will remember. Sha Tin is bad at destination dining. You eat here because you are here.

Che Kung Temple, a 10 minute walk from Che Kung Temple MTR or Tai Wai MTR, is a rebuilt Song dynasty general temple completed in 1994. Turn the fan wheel three times for good luck. It is free. The busiest days are the second and third day of Chinese New Year, when over 100,000 visitors come. Go on a normal weekday and you will share the courtyard with a dozen people.

A Rock, a Train, and How to Leave

Amah Rock, a 15 metre rock formation in Lion Rock Country Park that resembles a woman carrying a baby, is visible from parts of Sha Tin. The hike from Hung Mui Kuk Road takes 30 to 45 minutes, moderate uphill on dirt and stone steps. The view looks over Sha Tin and the Shing Mun Valley. Do not go out of your way for it. If you are already cycling the river path and want a short climb, it works. If you have one day, skip it.

The East Rail Line connects Sha Tin MTR to Hung Hom in 15 minutes, Admiralty in 25 minutes, and the Lo Wu boundary with mainland China in 30 minutes. Fares to Central and Tsim Sha Tsui are set annually by the MTR Corporation; check the ticket machine on the day. Trains run every 2 to 3 minutes at peak. The stop opened in 1910 as part of the original Kowloon Canton Railway. Four platforms, four exits. Use Exit A for New Town Plaza. Use Exit B for the temple and the taxi rank.

What Sha Tin Does That No Other Hong Kong District Does

Sha Tin gives you a planned 1970s new town, a hillside temple with 12,800 Buddhas, a racecourse that holds 85,000 people, a free museum with Bruce Lee's jumpsuit, and a 7 kilometre river cycle path, all within a 25 minute MTR ride from Admiralty. It also gives you mediocre food, poor signage to its best attraction, and a distinct lack of evening energy after the racecourse closes. That is the trade off. You come to Sha Tin for the space, the cycle path, and the sight of a city that built order out of mudflats. You do not come for the nightlife.

Book the morning for the temple. Eat a packed lunch. Spend the afternoon on the river. If it is a Wednesday or a weekend, end at the racecourse with a cheap entry ticket and watch the horses run under floodlights. If it is not a race day, rent a bike and ride to Tai Po. The last train back to Admiralty leaves Sha Tin MTR at 00:50. You will be back in your hotel before midnight, and you will have seen a Hong Kong that most visitors miss entirely.